Norris leads Piastri and Russell in final practice session for Japanese Grand Prix
Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool
Lando Norris commanded the third and final practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, leading the timesheets ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri and Mercedes driver George Russell. This session provided the drivers an essential last opportunity to fine-tune their cars at the Suzuka Circuit before Saturday's qualifying session.
On Friday, Free Practice 2 was significantly disrupted with four red flag stoppages, making this practice session even more crucial. The drivers were out on track again at 1130 local time on Saturday.
A major focus before the session was whether Jack Doohan’s A525 would be ready after his heavy crash in the second practice. Alpine confirmed that the #7 car was ready, with all parts replaced except the power unit. Doohan was one of the first drivers to hit the track, opting for soft tires while the rest of the field chose medium and hard compounds.
Early in the session, Isack Hadjar experienced a significant issue in his cockpit, describing it as "quite bad" before returning to the pits. The session was briefly halted by a red flag due to a small fire trackside. Once the session resumed, there was plenty of action on the track.
As the session approached its halfway mark, Piastri posted the fastest time with a 1m 28.768s lap. Meanwhile, Norris was pushing hard but had a couple of wide moments. Carlos Sainz also went off track, venturing across the grass as he adjusted to the Williams machine in his third race weekend for the team.
The leaderboard saw several changes as more drivers completed laps on soft tires. Russell briefly took the top spot with a 1m 28.385s lap in his Mercedes. Norris faced an up-and-down session, with his car undergoing floor work and another wide moment through the Degners.
Despite these obstacles, Norris set the fastest time of the session at 1m 27.965s, finishing 0.026 seconds ahead of Piastri. Russell was a tenth of a second behind in third. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton positioned their Ferraris in fourth and sixth respectively, with Max Verstappen between them. Both Verstappen and Piastri are under investigation for allegedly failing to follow the Race Director’s instructions.
Rounding out the top ten were Williams’ Alex Albon, Alpine's Pierre Gasly, Red Bull's debutant Yuki Tsunoda, and Hadjar. Sainz narrowly missed the top ten, finishing 11th. Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Doohan, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso followed.
Ollie Bearman secured 16th for Haas, followed by rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who nearly lost control of his Kick Sauber late in the session. Esteban Ocon (Haas), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), and Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) rounded out the field.
The teams and drivers will now have one final debrief before qualifying starts at 1500 local time, setting the grid for Sunday’s race.
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